Leoric
The leader of both New Valarak and the Spectral Knights, Leoric is a bold, fearless, compassionate leader, respected by his subjects and comrades. But he's not perfect. An ordinary man shouldered with the responsibility of leading his populace into a new, unknown age, Leoric is still plagued by the same human failings as everyone else, from misguided preconceptions about the elderly to moments of thoughtlessness. Perhaps that's why Merklynn gave him the power staff of Wisdom, to help shape him into the truly great leader Prysmos needs. Leoric's totem animal is the lion, which symbolises his brave and courageous nature. Fiction ---- 'Animated Series' :Voice actor: Neil Ross After the fall of technology, New Valarak emerged as one of the main city states on Prysmos and Leoric, as its leader, was greatly renowned. This attracted attention, such as Darkstorm laying siege to the city, but also meant that Merklynn appeared in person to inform Leoric and his allies of the quest for magic. Although sceptical, Leoric agreed to go on the quest, accompanied by Feryl and Ectar. His natural leadership skills showed through as he ushered on the assembled horde of questing knights into the labyrinthine caverns of Iron Mountain. Leoric’s progress to the shrine was impeded repeatedly by Darkstorm and his lackeys. Upon hearing calls for help from another knight, Leoric immediately stuck off to help, only to find it was a ruse by Mortdred. Upon entering a room with a large sleeping golem inside, Leoric intended to sneak past, until it woken by a stone thrown by Reekon. While Feryl and Ectar despaired, Leoric charged head first at the angry golem, confusing it enough to escape. Nearing the shrine, Leoric was alerted to an ambush by Ectar and led both his knights and four others against the new Darkling Lords. After Merklynn stopped the fight, Leoric and the others entered the shrine, where he was given the lion totem. His staff was infused with the power of Wisdom. After the Visionaries were ejected from the shrine, Leoric broke up a fight between the two groups of knights and reluctantly accepted a truce proposed by Darkstorm. Merklynn's quest had already turned into a good anecdote for Leoric, Feryl and Ectar to tell the other knights of New Valarak by the time that Darkstorm began capturing his rival Visionaries. When Galadria arrived abruptly to warn New Valarak of Darkstorm's plans, Leoric turned to his new Power Staff of Wisdom for advice. The Owl cryptically told him to "become one with the Circle of Light", leaving Leoric bemused. Despite quickly mounting defences against Darkstorm's siege, Leoric's forces were soon overwhelmed by Darkstorm's newly found magical vehicles and Cindarr's power of Destruction breaking down the city's walls. Leoric led his fellow knights into battle, but after Feryl and Galadria were subdued, he was forced to give his Power Staff to a retreating Ectar. Leoric was eventually overwhelmed by the combined forces of the Darkling Lords and captured. With Leoric and the other six heroic knights imprisoned in a dungeon, it was there that he realised the meaning of the Owl's words -- the Circle of Light was the bond between himself and his fellow Visionaries. He proposed that they formed a sacred order called the Spectral Knights, to bring light to the dark world of Prysmos. Unfortunately, as soon as they'd all agreed to this, their jailer Lexor flooded the cell holding them! 'Star Comic Series' During the Age of Science, Leoric was mayor of New Valarak. He was possibly present when Merklynn appeared at the Iron Mountain Diner and saved its patrons from dying in its collapse. As society crumbled, Leoric fought hard to stop tyrants like Darkstorm from exploiting the vulnerable people of his city. When Merklynn appeared to offer magic to those who could reach the secret chamber within Iron Mountain, Leoric took up the challenge. With his companions Ectar and Feryl, he led the charge into the mountain's maze-like interior. Along the way, his group was delayed by Mortdred and then attacked by a gargoyle, woken from its slumber by Reekon. In the face of danger, Leoric did not wilt and pressed his own attack at the creature, scaring it away. Upon reaching the foyer to the secret chamber, Leoric and his allies were ambushed by Darkstorm. Bolstered by reinforcements, Leoric looked set to defeat his foe until Merklynn put a stop to the battle. Tasked with opening the large door to the chamber, Leoric organised teamwork amongst the knights to gain entrance. There, they were faced with a maelstrom of spirits and energy, but Leoric bravely led his fellow questers through into Merklynn's chamber. For his courage, he was awarded the totem of the lion and the power of Wisdom. The Visionaries were promptly ejected from Merklynn's lair and descended into a brawl, but Leoric stood aside and shamed them all into calm. He proposed that all Visionaries used their new powers for the betterment of all on Prysmos, but was rebuffed by Darkstorm and his Darkling Lords. Leoric and his allies repaired to New Valarak, where they swore an oath to work together. Their mission was soon interrupted by the Darkling Lords' attacking with their new Sky Claw vehicle. Leoric led a counter-attack against it, in which he narrowly avoided being strafed by the vehicle, thanks to Arzon. A few months later, Leoric consulted with Arzon when the latter found a mysterious map. The two discovered that it was to an ancient doomsday weapon in Gravestone Bay. They consulted with Merklynn, who confirmed that, if used, it could end the Age of Magic. Leoric offered caution to Arzon's fervent optimism at the prospect. They met up with the rest of the Spectral Knights at the facility, but were attacked by the Darkling Lords. Leoric convinced Arzon that the weapon should be destroyed. When Witterquick was plagued by dreams of a mysterious woman being held prisoner, Leoric counselled the warrior and told him that he should follow his impulses. Later, Leoric was present when Merklynn summoned the Spectral Knights to Iron Mountain for a new quest. Leoric tried to insist that he and his men were not bound by Merklynn's whims, but still agreed to the quest. He again tried to make a truce with Darkstorm, but failed. 'Storybooks' storybook synopsis Toys ---- *'Leoric' (1987) **''Accessories:'' Magical bull-whip, helmet, power staff of Wisdom Leoric has sky blue armour with dark green under-layers. The high shoulder elements of his armour are mirrored in the shape of his power staff. Uniquely amongst the (released) Spectral Knight figures, Leoric has facial hair. His helmet fits a lot better than most of the other Spectral Knights' and he's one of the few figures able to competently hold and stand with his power staff. His whip is made of a flexible plastic and can actually be used a miniature whip. We're serious, it can totally sting if you try it. His chest hologram is a lion's head with strangely pronounced buck fangs. *'IDW Revolution set' (SDCC exclusive, 2017) **''Accessories:'' Whip, helmet, power staff of Wisdom, stand Thirty years since the release of the last Visionaries action figures, Leoric returned as part of an IDW Revolution boxset (despite not yet having appeared in an IDW comic). This set was exclusive to San Diego Comic Con and contained figures from various Hasbro toylines - Visionaries, MASK, Micronauts, GI Joe, ROM and Transformers. Leoric is now in the GI Joe standard 3 3/4" scale and made from mostly recycled GI Joe parts. Newly tooled parts include his chest, helmet, power staff and possibly his whip and head. The figure recreates Leoric's original design fairly accurately, but foregoes holograms in favour of shiny foil stickers for the chest plate and power staff. These accurately replicate the images used in the animated series. 'Merchandise' ---- *'Mighty Mugg' (2016) Available exclusively at San Diego Comic Con 2016, this is the first piece of Visionaries merchandise available in nearly thirty years! Leoric is made from the same base mould as all Mighty Mugg vinyl figures, albeit with his chest plate added, featuring limited articulation. He faithfully recreates the design of the original figure, although instead of a hologram on his chest plate, there is a shiny foil sticker featuring the lion head design from the animated series. 'Notes' ---- *Unlike some of his esteemed contemporaries, Leoric is consistently shown to be thoroughly flawed and human. One episode of the animated series is spent pretty much punishing him for mocking Merklynn behind his back. *Leoric's weapon is a whip, which is standard fare for cliche circus lion tamers. Bravo, Hasbro, bravo. *Leoric's name is a portmanteau (sort of) of 'leo' and 'heroic'. 'Production' * As with all the 1987 figures, Leoric was initially intended to come with a smaller Power Staff, featuring a hologram the same size as, and interchangeable with, his chest hologram. This can be seen in some early advertisements for the line. The change to the larger size for release resulted in a complete change in image for the hologram and design for the staff. *Leoric's whip was also significantly different in pre-release versions, set into a curve rather than being a flexible piece of plastic. 'References' Category:Characters Category:Visionaries Category:Spectral Knights